Mark 6:45–8:26
45 wImmediately he xmade his disciples get into ythe boat and go before him to the other side, zto Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, ahe went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when bevening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about bthe fourth watch of the night7 he came to them, walking on the sea. cHe meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and dwere terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, e“Take heart; it is I. eDo not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for fthey did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts gwere hardened.
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
53 hWhen they had crossed over, they came to land at iGennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately jrecognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring kthe sick people lon their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, mthey laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even nthe fringe of his garment. And oas many as touched it were made well.
7 pNow when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes qwho had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were rdefiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,1 holding to sthe tradition of tthe elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.2 And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as uthe washing of vcups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.3) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to sthe tradition of tthe elders, wbut eat with rdefiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you xhypocrites, as it is written,
y“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
teaching as zdoctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of arejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, b‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, c‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)4— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus dmaking void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, e“Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 fThere is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”5 17 And when he had entered gthe house and left the people, hhis disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then iare you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart jbut his stomach, and is expelled?”6 (kThus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, l“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, mmurder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, nsensuality, oenvy, pslander, qpride, rfoolishness. 23 sAll these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.7 And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 tNow the woman was a uGentile, va Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be wfed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and xthrow it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s ycrumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may zgo your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
31 aThen he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to bthe Sea of Galilee, in the region of the cDecapolis. 32 And they brought to him da man who was deaf and dhad a speech impediment, and they begged him to elay his hand on him. 33 And ftaking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and fafter spitting touched his tongue. 34 And glooking up to heaven, hhe sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 dAnd his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And iJesus8 charged them to tell no one. But jthe more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were kastonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
8 lIn those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 m“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, n“Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and ohaving given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And phaving blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And qthey ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, nseven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into rthe boat with his disciples and went to the district of sDalmanutha.1
11 tThe Pharisees came and began to argue with him, useeking from him va sign from heaven wto test him. 12 And xhe sighed deeply yin his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And zhe left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod
14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; abeware of bthe leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of cHerod.”2 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And dJesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? eDo you not yet perceive for understand? fAre your hearts hardened? 18 gHaving eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke hthe five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And ithe seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida
22 And they came jto Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And khe took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when khe had lspit on his eyes and mlaid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus3 laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, n“Do not even enter the village.”